NU

The NU programme (Online Education for International Positioning) is an opportunity for universities to develop and implement internationally competitive online courses. The aim is to contribute to the profiling and positioning of the universities strong teaching and research environments.

How NU contributes to the development of Integrated Research and Education Environments:

Developing flexible, online courses designed in close collaboration with the business sector provides the opportunity to offer business-relevant courses for both working professionals as well as Swedish and international students. This way, strong research and education environments can become important academic partners for companies within relevant industries, and offer attractive courses for students.

About the programme

The programme relates to development and implementation of online courses that are internationally viable. The aim is to promote the international positioning of the strong teaching and research environments at the university through support for the development of online master’s-level and doctorate-level specialist courses. Courses developed must also have a concentration that corresponds to the needs of the business sector, as well as promote pedagogical development. The initiative is to result in the development of targeted, online courses, not MOOCs. These targeted courses are characterised by having a clearly defined target group with admission based on defined entry requirements. In this way, the technological advantages of MOOCs, can be combined with the possibility of providing a tailored offering.

The programme’s contribution to the university’s development

Universities currently face increased competition, where profiling of research and higher education constitutes a prerequisite to assert themselves in the face of global competition. Online course offerings provide an opportunity for the universities to position their strong educational and research environments nationally and internationally. Courses should be developed in collaboration with companies, which provides the universities with good insight into the knowledge needs of the business sector. Furthermore, it is important that courses at the master’s level with strong connections to the business sector strengthen the conditions for recruitment of students nationally and internationally.

The programme’s contribution to business sector development

Through their participation, companies can be part of forming course content and design so that the content is of topical interest for the business sector. This ensures relevance for business and strengthens the conditions for a proper competence supply in the business sector, which is a requirement for companies’ development and long-term ability to compete. It is also an opportunity for the business sector to strengthen its relationships with the university and thus expand collaboration in both research and education.

Programme design

Funds can be used for development and implementation of online education for second and third cycle Courses and in line with the university’s strategy/ambition regarding online education for international positioning. The application can cover one or more subprojects. A subproject refers to a course or courses within one strong research and education area. A subproject can contain a maximum of 15 credits per application and must run for three to four years. The call for proposals recurs annually, which is why it is possible to gradually construct and develop the activities.

Who can apply, and how it works

• Sweden’s university colleges and new universities authorised to award degrees at the master’s level and doctoral student courses at the PhD level for the teaching and research environments referred to, are eligible to apply for funding.
• The programme issues calls for proposals annually, every autumn.
• Applications are registered via the Ansök & rapportera portal at the website.

Linda Assbring

Programme Manager for NU, Industrial Graduate Schools and Professional Licentiate